Childhood Crushes

Prologue/Chapter One - Beaver? Who's Beaver?

Prologue

Here I am, a small town girl in my hometown, moved from the country to the city, from the city to the country, walking down the isle. And at the end of this isle is standing my childhood crush, wearing a tuxedo and smiling. God, he looked so handsome. I never thought he'd look this good in a tux. How exactly did I get to be here? Well, let's see...

Chapter One - Beaver? Who's Beaver?

"Annabelle, are you ready for school yet?" Daddy hollered up from downstairs. I quickly grabbed my backpack and ran down, taking two steps at a time. "Whoa now, slow your roll." He laughed.

"Sorry, Daddy. I'm just excited, I guess."

"Excited or not, let's try to get to the truck in one piece." We walked out to the truck and began to drive to my school. It didn't take as long as I thought it would to get to it. In fact it took longer than I had hoped it would. It's never fun being the new kid. But, here we are - Fairway Middle School. I watched some of the kids walk inside and tried to guess which ones would be good friends or not.

"Well, punkin," Daddy sighed, turning to face me in the passenger seat. "I'll be working late, so your brother Billy is gonna pick you up. I hope you have a good day, sweetie, and you make some good friends now, ya hear?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'll try."

"Be sociable." He winked.

I nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before getting out of the truck and walking up to the front of the building. When I turned to look back at Daddy's truck, he was already pulling away from the sidewalk and driving to work. I wished he could go inside with me, but how lame would that be? Very lame, very lame indeed.

I shook my head and turned back to the big doors of the school. Other kids that were going inside watched me like I was an animal escaped from the zoo. Being the new kid was not a good experience, but then again, I would make new friends...right?

I swallowed hard before taking my first step into the school. It was so loud inside, I was shocked by how many kids were in there. Some of them were hugging each other, saying how much they missed each other. While others talked about vacations they had or what they did over summer break.

I saw a girl with blonde hair talking to her friends. She was smiling a lot and looked friendly, so I walked up to her. "Hi, I'm Annabelle." I smiled.

She looked me over before smiling back, "I'm Ashley."

"I'm new in town."

"...And?"

"And I was wondering if you could show me around?" I tried to keep on a broad smile. Momma always told me the best way to make friends is show them your teeth and be a happy camper. Ashley looked at me like I just grew a third head then turned to her friends, "She's joking, right?" The other girls all giggled along. Ashley turned back to me with a smug smile, "I can't be seen with you. You look like a beaver - have you ever thought of braces?" My smile faded and I subconciously felt my teeth with my fingers. "And you're the new kid! I have a reputation to uphold here, so buzz off, cowgirl." She flipped her straight blonde hair at me before walking away with her friends.

I stood there for a moment, and dropped my hand from my teeth - I don't look like a beaver...do I?

I shook my head and walked to my new locker. I was gonna just wait here until my first class, not wanting anyone else to get the chance to call me a beaver. It took me a while to see someone was in the locker next to me, and staring at me. I looked at him, "What?" I asked, a bit rudely. That girl totally ruined my attitude about today.

His eyebrows raised at me, "My, for a new kid you sure are fiesty." He smiled.

"Sorry. The Git Group over there ruined my day." I pointed to Ashley and all her friends. The boy started roaring with laughter, "Git Group, huh? We're gonna hafta start calling them that. What'd they do to you?"

"She told me I look like a beaver then called me a cowgirl." I mumbled into my locker.

"Don't mind Ashley, she's just jealous that everyone's going to pay more attention to the new girl than her. Besides, you don't look like a beaver. Of course, my teeth aren't perfect either." He shrugged, then gave a cheesy smile to show me his slightly crooked teeth. He stuck out his hand and shook mine, "I'm Bale. You know, like a bale of hay. That's how my parents explain it anyway." He rolled his eyes and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm A-" The bell rang loudly, drowning me out. Bale grabbed his book bag off the floor and turned to walk away. He walked backwards for a moment, hollering over the other kids, "Later, Beaver Girl!"

"Hey! You said I don't look like a beaver!"

"I know you don't, but what else can I call you? I don't know your name!" He laughed and turned to walk away, saying over his shoulder, "Catch you at lunch!"

It's only been 10 minutes in Middle School and I've made a good friend and gotten a nickname. Huh...

I smiled to myself and ran to class - can't be late on your first day.

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Authors Notes: Hey guys, I hope you liked this. Trust me, it's got a really cool story line ;) If you stick with me, you'll get some fer real surprises :)

Give me feedback!!: Please let me know if you have any questions about it or whatever, just give me feedback :) This will be my best work if y'all just stick in there with me! You'll love it, trust me!!

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~Dagger